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Framing done, purlins on the rafters, frame fastened to the ties, and heading to Lowes tomorrow to get some roofing tomorrow. That’ll be the first (and hopefully the only) materials I’ve purchased for the coop. Doesn’t look much different so no photos, despite the amount of work I did to it today.

Once I get the roof on, might have to back off a bit. Working outside in cold weather doesn’t seem to be a good idea. Having a rough night with my lower back. I’ve been burning all the unusable scraps to keep a way to warm up when I slowed down enough to cool down. Ran outta scraps to burn. Will get more photos when I make substantial progress.
 
Framing done, purlins on the rafters, frame fastened to the ties, and heading to Lowes tomorrow to get some roofing tomorrow. That’ll be the first (and hopefully the only) materials I’ve purchased for the coop. Doesn’t look much different so no photos, despite the amount of work I did to it today.

Once I get the roof on, might have to back off a bit. Working outside in cold weather doesn’t seem to be a good idea. Having a rough night with my lower back. I’ve been burning all the unusable scraps to keep a way to warm up when I slowed down enough to cool down. Ran outta scraps to burn. Will get more photos when I make substantial progress.
I saw that little cooker behind the coop on one of your photos and thought that's what your were doing.

Looks similar to an OzPig but different...
 
I saw that little cooker behind the coop on one of your photos and thought that's what your were doing.

Looks similar to an OzPig but different...
It’s a Corona #80 wood stove manufactured around 1910 by the King Stove and Range Company in Sheffield, AL. I thought earlier, but the company actually filed in 1905. I can’t find any information specific to this model, but the company name is on the back. When I was a kid, it was in our kitchen to warm part of the house and thaw out frozen toes and fingers after hunting. I probably cut and split a couple tons of wood for it every winter. Between this thing and a fireplace with no damper, I was as busy in winter cutting firewood as I was in summer cutting grass. If I do install it, or one similar, it will definitely have a damper to help control burn rate.
 
Got two sides covered today. Working with scrap lumber can be a little frustrating, but this thing is turning out pretty good.
The sheet metal on top is the only part of this that is new material. Well, other than fasteners.

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Little chooks should be fairly safe in this thing.
 
Got two sides covered today. Working with scrap lumber can be a little frustrating, but this thing is turning out pretty good.
The sheet metal on top is the only part of this that is new material. Well, other than fasteners.

View attachment 27758View attachment 27759

Little chooks should be fairly safe in this thing.
Where is foghorn leghorn?
 
Where is foghorn leghorn?
Still got a bit to do, including building the run. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to have roosters in the city limits. Some BS about noise, but they don't do/say anything about people that put their dogs that they ignore outside so they can bark at the neighbors non-stop while they build a chicken coop. One neighbor (two houses up) has a Scotty. That has to be the most annoying animal I've ever seen. They don't do much with him, so he gets bored and barks at EVERYTHING, regardless if he's been seeing it for 8 hours. They have an InvisiFence system, and have it set up about 4 feet from the chain-link fence. The idiot dog will get close to the fence and the collar starts shocking him, so he'll start squalling like someone is beating him with a club. One would THINK he'd back away from the fence, but he does not. Reminds me of a few people I've known in my lifetime. "Stupid is as stupid does!" -- Forrest Gump. And the city is worried about a rooster crowing?
 
Still got a bit to do, including building the run. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to have roosters in the city limits. Some BS about noise, but they don't do/say anything about people that put their dogs that they ignore outside so they can bark at the neighbors non-stop while they build a chicken coop. One neighbor (two houses up) has a Scotty. That has to be the most annoying animal I've ever seen. They don't do much with him, so he gets bored and barks at EVERYTHING, regardless if he's been seeing it for 8 hours. They have an InvisiFence system, and have it set up about 4 feet from the chain-link fence. The idiot dog will get close to the fence and the collar starts shocking him, so he'll start squalling like someone is beating him with a club. One would THINK he'd back away from the fence, but he does not. Reminds me of a few people I've known in my lifetime. "Stupid is as stupid does!" -- Forrest Gump. And the city is worried about a rooster crowing?
Just get one...... when people complain tell them it's someone else
 
“She reminds me of Paul Revere’s ride. A little light in the belfry.”

“He’s about as sharp as a bowling ball.”

I do miss Mel Blanc. I reckon he was probably one of the first to hide adult humor and insult in his comedy. I saw him at the University of Alabama in 78 or 79. It was not a dull night and worth every penny of the admission.

Hope to get the other two sides done today, then all I have left is a door and removable nesting box.inside, I still need to build a roost and ladder for the nests, but those won’t be needed for a long time. It’s got a very rustic look to it and the missus likes it, so hopefully it’ll protect the girls as well. That would pretty much cover my intentions. Though the lumber is old, it’s all pressure treated and has all been covered many times with deck stain, so it should last as long as we want chickens. Gonna do everything I can to minimize pests and predators for them with the most natural means. Not much I’ll be able to do about the big redtail hawks sitting on top of the run. They’ll figure it out eventually, though.

Next up is figuring out how big I can make the run with what I have for four legged predator mitigation. I’m thinking nearly double the size of the coop. (16x6).
 
Got two sides covered today. Working with scrap lumber can be a little frustrating, but this thing is turning out pretty good.
The sheet metal on top is the only part of this that is new material. Well, other than fasteners.

View attachment 27758View attachment 27759

Little chooks should be fairly safe in this thing.
Whoa check it out Cluckingham Palace! :D

You could sleep me in there it looks that nice wow!
 
Finished the walls today. Just a bit of trim to close the corners and some screen at the eaves. Gonna put 1/2x1/2 galvanized hardware cloth on the eaves to keep small birds from building in the coop and mitigate avian diseases.

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Next item is the trim and then a door for people and one for chooks. Someone owes me a favor and offered me access to his 3-point post hole digger which will make setting posts for the run a lot easier. Will probably do that after new year’s. Should have most of the basic fixtures done in the coop by then.
 
I'm happy with it, 105 layer random pattern. Technically a Damascus San-Mai as I put a piece of 80Crv2 in the middle for a good cutting edge with 54 layers on each side.
 
I'm happy with it, 105 layer random pattern. Technically a Damascus San-Mai as I put a piece of 80Crv2 in the middle for a good cutting edge with 54 layers on each side.
Now that you point it out, yeah, I can see the change along the edge. Still looks pretty sweet. Did you do that with a twist or what?
 
That's beautiful.
I was kinda eyeballing what appears to be hair around it, which might mean he was reasonably successful in obtaining the sharp edge he was looking for. ;)

I reckon @Hawkbox oughta be on "Forged In Fire", but that blade might be hard to do in the time limits of that competition. That looks like a lot of forging to get that blade that wide. They typically allow 3 hours for each step of forging the blade and then shaping it and putting a handle on it. Those guys are pretty brutal to blades in their testing. Some of the testing I would definitely call 'overboard'. No person in their right mind would EVER use a knife to chop through deer antler. An axe murderer, maybe. The average housewife, never. Unless you walked on her freshly mopped floor. "It will keel!" I love that show, and hanging for the next season. Some very interesting historical recreations on there.
 

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